Dark of Night
by somemoxsomejen
Summary: A/U The Monkees are well...just read, you won't believe me otherwise
1. Chapter 1

From his perch in the branches above, he scented the air. The other members of the renegade coven were pigs about their food. David, the oldest ate voraciously and indiscriminately. He had been changed in the 17th century by some street harlot and had spent his immortality getting a sadistic revenge on the fairer sex. Michael, called Micky, had been a vaudevillian actor and he had the odd habit of taking a host feeder; it was the equivalent of a mortal 'girlfriend'. True to the morals of the time in which he had been alive, Micky kept one female at his side for months at a time, gorging on her until another flavor caught his attention. Peter, the midwestern farm boy, ate sparingly and almost reluctantly. Not so with Mike; Mike preferred to wait, to go without sustenance until the hunger became a pain too intense to resist. Only when it was unbearable did he feed on mortal blood, the near madness of his hunger making the coppery sweet taste addicting

It was dangerous and reckless. In his state of blood thrall, the euphoria when feeding that produced the vampire equivalent of a high, under such thrall he could lose control and kill. And killing was forbidden. Though their ragtag band were outcasts among the Brethren, there was still a basic code expected of all vampires. First, one must never convert. It happened, as their existences proved, but to control the population and keep from killing off all the food, and to keep from unbalanced or unworthy individuals from becoming vamp, the Council decreed only 50 years prior that no mortals should be brought over. Secondly, killing was forbidden. Humans were a food source and were to be treated with care. Too many bloodless bodies would raise suspicion and cause territorial wars between the Brethren clan for food. While Mike's ragtag group avoided the politics of these delicate alliances and intrigues, they still followed decorum and did not invite trouble.

"Pick yer damn poi'ssun and le's get outta 'ere." Davy muttered from behind him, annoyed. Louder, he said, "I've found my meal, Mike. I'll catch up with you la'er." Using his unnatural speed, the Brit swooped down and blended in with the crowd smoking outside the bar. The group of 15 or so were milling around in the cold as the lights flashed and music thumped back in the club. Unlike Davy who fed on anything available, Mike waited for a specific type....

He scented the air again, using animal instincts acquired over a hundred years of hunting. And he caught whiff of what he wanted. A dishwater brunette, leaving the bar alone; she stopped for a minute and glanced around. Mike feared that maybe she was aware that he was watching. But instead she ran over to another female and the two hugged. As he waited, the pretty female seemed to be making goodbye to her friend. The small talk infuriated him but for her, he could wait.

She would be so sweet to taste. It was not for her looks that he had singled her out, though even from his distance he could see she was a beautiful woman with frail features. Her skin was so alabaster that he saw the whispy blue ribbons of veins in her throat. Against her skin, her hair was like strands of forest foliage. But had she been a crone, he would have still chosen her for that specific sweet taste.

She was diabetic. Mike had, quite by accident, stumbled across the delicacy of feasting on a diabetic's blood. If he timed his feeding to coordinate with their insulin injections, or the spike in their blood sugar after a meal, the flavor in their bloodstream became unbearably sweet and intoxicating. Years ago, in a lost lifetime, when he had been mortal, the summer breezes of his childhood home had been thick with the smell of mimosa trees. So thick that when he breathed, the flavor of the air had coated his tongue. Tasting a diabetic's blood was as close as he had been to home, to that long ago summer sun, as he would ever be again.

"Aww, Mira, are you sure you have to go home now?" her friend was asking. "Leanne's on her way and it's just starting to get hot in there!"

" I really have to go, sorry, Jamie," Mira fidgeted. She really didn't want to alarm her friend but she was feeling dizzy and her tongue felt thick, a sure sign she needed her insulin. In a rare and incredibly stupid move, Mira had left the house without any medication, thinking she had her travel injection cartridges in the glove compartment. She knew it had been stupid; she was just so happy to get one night off from work and to be able to go out. Her job at the hospital was demanding and as her hours picked up, her friends were slowly drifting away. "Tonight and tomorrow are the only days off I get this week and I have so much crap to do around the house..."

"Aw, all right." The other girl gave her a hug. " We sure miss seeing you. Cass was telling me it's been almost a year since we all hung out together..."

Sweat beaded on Mira's brow and her vision wavered and blurred. Uh oh. "I'm so sorry, Jamie....I'll, uh..later..." her legs wobbling, she hurried to the car. There had to be some cookies or crackers stashed in the car. Inside her little Saturn, she fumbled with the cracker box. Mercifully this would level her out enough to get home safely.

Mike sensed her heart racing, her disorientation and knew that such distress signalled her need for food and insulin. She would be at her ripest in a matter of minutes. But she was not immediately accessible, in that car and any attempt to draw her out would frighten her all ready taxed health. Though the group always hunted in pairs, Mike resigned himself that any chance of feeding from her would require getting her alone.

*

With an exaggerated sigh, Mira plopped down on her sofa, channel surfing without really seeing what was on the tv. The truth was things were getting worse. Type 1 diabetes caused her body to suffer, unable to make its own insulin or synthesize the natural form her body produced. As a little girl, she had managed a relatively normal life with her condition. But with time and physical maturity, the prognosis was worsening. Dr. Samuel had increased her injection dosage, 6 times in 5 years. Pancreas, stomach and kidney cells were being attacked--by her own immune system--starving for the hormone but unable to recognize it in her bloodstream. The kindly older man was baffled and after serving as her personal care physician for 13 years, he had finally pulled her aside and suggested she switch to a more experienced and better trained doctor; there was nothing more he could do for her.

"Doesn't want me dying on him," she muttered sullenly. It disappointed Mira, feeling like she was facing the battle alone. Her mother was busy teaching in England, Dad was happily busy with his new family in Italy. None of her friends seemed to understand what she was going through and rolled their eyes after a few months. People heard 'diabetes' and just assumed it wasn't as serious as it really was. Each day she seemed to need her injections more, the improving effects seemed to last for shorter and shorter times...

Mike let himself in through the unlocked window. Movies and books romanticized the mystical comings and goings of his kind, but in reality, most of their movement came down to careless people who forgot to lock up. He paid no attention to the pictures on the wall, or the kitten in the hallway, hissing and growling at him, following the soft light and noise the front room. Spread out across the couch, the delicate woman was in that dreamless rest of not awake but not quite asleep. Her head was thrown back exposing the ivory column of her bare throat, the pulse drumming visibly under the skin. Too hungry to wait much longer, Mike moved forward...

And froze.

He smelled it on her. Death. It was a faint tinge, a wisp of air clinging to her skin and clothes. The meal he had selected was all ready half way shed of her mortal coil. Brows knit together, he studied her. Pale skin, erratic heart beat, what was wrong that the girl was so near her end? He guessed her to be 27 or 28. From her uncomfortable position she shifted, rolling to her side, one of her shoes dropping to the floor. Despite her internal weakness, her body was full and womanly. A stroke of conscience assailed Mike and he debated the wisdom of feeding from such a pitiful creature. She was all ready doomed. Reflexively two incisors pushed their full length out, extending into the well known fangs of vampire lore. It was a mistake to wait until he was near starved; the frenzied instinct to feed was riding him hard, when his reason was reluctant to do so now. His eyes traveled back up her body, lingering on her breasts, before looking back up at her sleeping face.

Except she was no longer sleeping. She was watching him, intently. The thought of running died in his mind when he took in the shadows under eyes, the pain wracked respirations of her breathing. Helpless and sick, she was no threat to him. None at all.

His fangs gleamed at her in the low light. "Are you going to kill me?," she whispered.

He shook his head; the primal urge of his kind begging him to eat. Some remnant of the human he had been restrained him. "No."

To his utter shock, the girl sighed and her eyes fluttered shut. "Might as well." When he said nothing, she pulled herself into a sitting position. "Go on, Dracula. Do your thing."

Muscles knotted he forced himself to remain where he was. "You want me to drink from you?"

"Not I'm dreaming because you can't be real. And since you're not naked, this dream can hurry up and be over."

A laugh sputtered on his lips. In his time, women had not been so forward. "I am real and I do not want to kill you or drink from you. You are not well"

"There's an understatement. Look..uh.."

"Mike", he supplied.

"Look, Mike, I am very much not well. Being sick sucks big time. I'd rather not go through it if you catch my drift. Plus, according to every romance novel I've ever read, you need blood to live. So in dying, I'd be doing something nice for a..vampire..in need." She leaned back, inviting him access to her neck and patted the cushion beside her. "Come and get it while it's warm."

"No, girl, you're ill, " he said, even as he stepped closer. Her smile was lovely and the arch of her neck pushed her breasts out further. Lust was a pleasant side effect to the hunger of his kind. Very rarely did the actual act accompany a feeding since the taste of blood calmed all appetites.

Ignoring his protest, she merely sighed and let her eyes fall shut again. "Put us both out of our misery, Drac. Please." On the end table next to her sat an empty injection cartridge.

With a whimper of surrender, Mike came over, choosing instead to kneel in front of her. Even when his breath feathered her face, the girl didn't move. Pausing only a scant second to place a kiss on her ear, he bent his face into the vulnerable curve of her neck, sucking the skin into his mouth. His brain screamed at him to stop, to find a meal that he would be healthy enough to survive the loss of its precious blood. In an instant, the voice was obliterated and he clamped his jaw down, feeling his teeth puncture a thin, rubbery vein.

Candy flavored, liquid warmth poured into him. Nothing he had imagined could have prepared him for the confectionery taste, so delicate and heady. What began with his noble intention of only taking a sip was rapidly deteriorating into devouring a meal. Beneath him, her body went limp, and he moved to scoop her up in his arms without breaking his feeding. Mike pulled his head back, watched the two crimson lines roll down across her collarbone and lapped them with his tongue. Reason shouted to him to stop before he took too much but the coppery jolt of saccharine moving under his lips was too delicious to give up. He licked the twin wounds, bent his head and bit again, this time lower, closer to her jugular, where the blood would be racing from her heart. He suckled until his eyes flew open and he realized her blood was not racing through the upright Mike looked down and saw the girl, her flesh colored a bluish hue. Her eyelids were open only to little slits and she looked up at him with glassy unfixed pupils. For a moment, her cyanotic lips moved as if she wanted to speak but no sound came and instead her head lolled back like a flower on a stem. Horrified Mike ran his tongue along the double set of marks he had left on her; vampire saliva had a coagulative agent in it that would seal the holes in a matter of minutes thus leaving prey unaware. Watching the punctures seal, he lifted her hand and fumbled for a distal pulse. It wasn't there. His hands tore at her blouse, and he pushed her down into the couch, his face on her chest frantically listening for a beat. Hours ago when he had selected her, the rhythm had been a solid if rapid thumping. Now it was barely a tremor.

She was dying. Mike made a terrified sob, horrifed at himself. She was so sick and weak, helpless, and he had killed her. He muffled his moan into her shirt. Softly, almost imperceptibly, her hand moved to touch him, to rub his shoulder, the only part of him he could reach in her condition.

"S'ok," she slurred. "S'okmmike. Bedderth " her breath shuddered, "isshway. Pooormmike, poorrmiiike."

The knot of guilt twisted tighter in his gut, a hot acrid shame. Like a child, he was weeping onto a dying woman who was with her last moments comforting him. He squeezed his eyes shut. There would be consequences for what we was going to do, but the consequences for letting her die would torment him his entire endless life. It took a quick look through her tiny bedroom to find the big thick blanket wadded up at the end of her bed. The tiny kitten arched and growled but he yanked the comforter away and wrapped it around the woman's cold body.

"Do not die, girl." he commanded in his most imperious voice. "You must live long enough for me to help you." Mike could not tell if she heard or understood. Seconds before slipping off into the night, her wobbly smile was the only indication she gave that she was still with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Light flickered and Mira winced at the dull throbbing ache in her body. She was sore all over, especially along her head and neck. Had she passed out on the floor again? Beneath her it felt like she might be lying on concrete.

Unable to move much, she turned her head as best she could. Wherever she had taken a dive last night, she was now in a small cobwebbed room bare of furniture, dust motes swirling in the sun beam of the lone window. A few feet away huddled in a corner was a boy, blond with enormous blue eyes that swallowed up the rest of his face. He was sitting wth his chin on his knees and arms wrapped around his legs, watching her with the expression of a wounded puppy.

"Help," she whispered. Mira's throat was raw, a burnt coppery taste coating her tongue. "Please."

The boy scampered on bare feet closer to her and unscrewed the cap of a water bottle. Using his free hand, her propped her head up slightly and Mira tried to help by leaning up on her elbows. The ice cold water tasted like a dream and she drank greedily. When the entire amount was gone, he gently lowered her back down.

"Thank you. Who are you?" Mira wondered. He looked very young, shaggy hair, clean but plain clothes. He was barefoot and a little thinner than most other men.

He locked eyes with her. _I'm Peter, _she heard the voice like a thought in her own head.

Had Mira been stronger she would have jumped 4 feet into the air. The boy calling himself Peter didn't speak,or even open his mouth yet she swore he had just talked to her. "Dear god, I'm losing my mind, " Mira whimpered. "Hallucinations and crazy dreams coming to life." She looked back to the boy. "Your name is Peter ?" He nodded. "How did I just hear you? Can't you speak?"

Peter shook his head, indicating no. _I was born mute. I've learned to communicate with thoughts. Mike calls it telepathy._

"Then Mike is real. Something happened last night...but I don't remember...and what I do remember doesn't make sense."

_You should sleep, he and the others will be awake soon. They will explain things better than I could. _Peter draped the blanket up over shoulders. _Rest now. _

"No, Peter, you don't understand, I'm in real trouble here. I'm diabetic and if I don't get to my insulin very soon, I'll have to go to a hospital." Mira pleaded.

_You don't need medicine now_, he told her with great sadness in his eyes. _Just... rest. You'll understand better later._

More weird happenings, men coming out of her dreams, people talking without talking, drifting off in her cute little apartment and then coming to in the attic of the Bates house in Psycho. Maybe she had finally lost it, gone into insulin shock and was comatose back in bed

*

When she woke next, the whole house was alive. There was no longer the sunshine pouring from the window, the silver gleam of the moon and stars flickered outside. Her blond companion was gone; feeling much stronger Mira sat up on her knees. Voices poured in from another room and she limped down a rickety set of stairs, hanging back halfway down to see what was happening.

"I mean...oh man, goddammit! When the hell did this happen, Pete?" asked a man she didn't recognize. He was thin and very animated, his hair dark and bushy. As he spoke he paced around Peter, who was sitting Indian style on a folding chair.

_MIke just brought her in and told me to watch her. He didn't say anything else._

"Fuck him! " The man got quiet and spun back around to Peter. "Did he convert her?"

_I don't believe so. She could barely hold her head up to drink. I felt pain and weakness radiating from her._

"'Ello, 'ello, chaps!" A shorter man strode in, British, flinging a jacket carelessly across one of the mismatched chairs. "Ah what a night! So stuffed I could burst. Mike's on his way, so you both can head out for yourselves now."

Peter cringed. _I'm not hungry._

Both men ignored him. "Listen Dave, we got a real problem here. Your buddy Mike left us a little wake up present in the attic last night."

"Did he now, Micky? Well let's just..." Dave and the other man strode towards the stairs where Mira was frozen. Neither said a word, staring at her. The British man cleared his throat and bestowed upon Mira a dazzling grin that had no doubt felled lesser women."'Ello, beautiful. How's about coming down and letting us get a look at you?"

Micky, as he called been called, nudged Davy still watching Mira. "Don't man. This is all kindsa fucked up."

Davy laughed. "Oh c'mon you two. Micky, Peter, don't you get what's going on? Our Mike's brought us breakfast."

Peter stood up._ Mike's home_, he announced.

Starved for the sight of a safe, famaliar face, Mira dashed passed the strange men and clasped her arms around Mike. True, he may have brought her here but right now he was a better option than the playboy who called her breakfast."What the hell is going on? Who are these people?" she hissed. Who are you, for that matter, she wondered.

"Look, fellas, I don't know what the problem is. Micky keeps his little girlfriends. Peter's got that orphan.." Peter's head jerked up and he looked embarassed. Nobody seemed to notice. "I had a problem and I couldn't leave her where she was."

Davy kept his gaze on Mira. "Yes, but Micky doesn't bring his meals back to our home. And it's particularly rude not to share...."

"You're not dying of hunger, Davy. So if we have to settle this..." Mike took a warning stance.

"Yea, all right, you two. Cut it. " Micky stepped between men and the escalating tension. "Mike, what exactly made you bring her here? ", he asked ticking off questions on his fingers, "How much does she know? And what do you plan on doing now? Because it's going to be a helluva mess trying to babysit a mortal with our, you know....habits."

"A mortal...?" Mira whispered to herself.

"Peter can watch her when--"

Micky threw up a hand, effectively cutting Mike off. "Yea, once in awhile. He can't daywalk very often because he won't eat. So that's not a solution."

"You're not bloody converting her, either, " Davy warned. "The last thing we need is the Brethren hunting all of us down for your mistakes."

On the word 'converting', fear overwhelmed Mira. She didn't know these people and she didn't want to. Mike had brought her here which made his allegiance suspect. Davy clearly regarded her as some form of food. Micky wasn't thrilled with her presence either. The boy might be all right but he was a paltry ally against the others. Instinct told her to run, so she flung herself from Mike and out the front door with as much speed as her body allowed. Despite the confusion swirling around her, Mira felt exhilarated, if only for a few seconds. It had been years she had been strong enough to run as she was doing now.

Mira got only a few feet into the black night before she felt Mike's arm sweep around her waist and pull her back against his chest. Screaming probably wouldn't do any good, since she didn't see any lights across the horizon indicating houses or a city. Still, she twisted and bucked in a futile attempt to break contact with his body." Let me go, let me go! I want nothing to do with you and your sick fucking nutcase friends, you...fucking..." she kicked her legs but Mike was too strong.

"Vampires," he stated flatly.

That word took the fight out of Mira and her body went limp. "Excuse me?"

"Lady-"

"Mira," she snapped.

"Ok, then, Mira; it's a long story." He let her down on her own feet and turned her to face him. In the dark she could only make out the white glint of his eyes. "A long, complicated story. Come back, sit down on the porch with me and I'll do my best to explain things. At least as much as I understand them myself."

Mira noted how defeated Mike sounded, tired. He was clearly a great deal stronger than she, but had been careful not to hurt her. "I want a couple questions answered first, please, before I know if I want to go anywhere with you."

"All right."

"How did I get here ? I remember last night....you", she ducked her head unsure of her own sanity, "you came out of a dream, and ..we..made out or something, right?"

"Not exactly. I followed you home, waited to feed from you .But you were..pretty sick. After I fed, you were slipping into heart failure. Mira, I have never, ever killed anything. I have to eat but I don't kill to do it" He gripped her shoulders. "I feel horrible, that I took your blood when you couldn't afford to lose any. I brought you here, where I sleep during the day so i could make sure you survived."

Something in what he said made her uneasy. "If my heart was failing, how am I alive now, Mike?"

"Shit." His hands dropped back to his sides. "Uh, the thing about that....you see, it's like this...you, uh, you needed blood. And .."

"You didn't ?!' Mira gasped. "Please say you didn't."

" I had to." Mike heaved a sigh. "You needed blood and mine has extra healing properties. It's got antibiotic agents that give us our immortality and super senses. I only sipped yours but even a that was too hard on you."

Which might answer for her body's new energy and total disinterest in insulin. But..oh, no! " Am I ....?"

"No," he hastened to assure her. "No, you can only be brought over if we exchange blood..a ..you know, certain way." Mira almost smiled; he sounded so embarassed now.

"What certain way?", she pressed.

"During .....sex. I have to take your blood and you take mine, while...uh, mating."

Well, that was a relief. So he had bitten her, nearly killed by accident, then felt badly enough to do his best to help her and make sure she didn't die. On the surface it sounded so inocuous, she doubted he had thought through the part about the carnivorous roommates. "Let's go sit then."

They walked side by side through the darkness in companionable silence. When their figures were bathed in the soft glow of artifical light coming from the ramshackle house, Mike took her hand and led her to the steps. He sat down and motioned for her to sit next to him. "I'm not sure where to begin...", he started.

"Go slowly. Tell me about you, your roommates. How you did you guys end up together like this?"

Mike rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Well, let's see. Davy's from London, you probably can tell that yourself. His story, and mind you, anything coming from Davy you take with a hefty grain of salt, is that he was born 1697. Lived in a decent home, parents expected him to go into business but he took off to be a sailor. Never made it outta London. Went to the docks looking for ship hiring crew and got hisself bit. Only part of what I told you is true, Mira, about sex. You can bring someone over that way but most of us, just get drained and then force fed another vamp's blood. That new blood turns you over and you're lost."

Mira said nothing, waited for him to continue. "Micky turns out to be related to me in some distant cousin way or other. He's from about 1910, 1911, somewhere in there. Did some stage act with a group that headed out to Hollywood looking to break into pictures. Poor Mick, he got out there, the old saying, wine, women and song. Got careless and got bit. I was born before the century turned, 1884. Lived on a farm, folks had too many mouths to feed so once I was old enough, I left for the city. " He laughed at his own memory. "There's my country ass wandering around Dallas, never even seen electricity before. Man, it's a wonder I went those few weeks I did 'fore getting bit on.'" Mike steepled his hands together. " Peter, I can't really say. Doesn't like to tell us too much. I'd guess from the way he was talking and acting when we found him, I'd put him around 1940s or 50s, somewhere there. He was young, way younger than most will convert. Vamps have their own laws and morals. Well anyhow he can't talk so the older vamps were stealing his food, or trying to find his sleeping spot and drag him out in the sun."

"Wait," Mira interjected, "I've seen him during the day, sunlight on his skin and everything."

"Yea," Mike nodded, ", joke was on them. Every vamp'll have his own special kind of ability. Davy's got some super speed skill, and Micky can make himself appear as anyone he wants. All those Elvis sightings a couple years back? That was him, just having a laugh on people."

"He can...morph?"

"No, he doesn't actually change. He does some mental thing where he makes you think you're looking at who he wants you to see. He's real good, too. Fooled me a time or two. But he doesn't have the mannerisms down so...Now, Pete, I guess he has some low threshhold for the sun but it's hard to say. Eating enough and keeping at full strength are what hone the talents and he doesn't eat much at all, let alone enough to use his skills. Me, I was blessed, or cursed, whatever, with super strength."

She was fascinated. "But ..I've read that you're all...strong.'

"Books. They never do tell the whole story." Mike absently ran his finger along her arm. "We're like people, Mira, none of us has it all together. And the books don't tell you the down side. We feel everything intensely. Pain is almost unbearable but thankfully we heal fast. We're totally helpless during the day, acutely sensitive to smell and sound."

"So..", wow this was overwhelming. How was she so calm right now, next to a vampire, and one who had nearly killed her no less!? "What becomes of me now?"

"I,uh, ...I didn't think that out exactly. It's forbidden to convert right now. Maybe it's best if I take you home..." He cupped her chin and brought her face up to his. "It's not what I want, you know. You're beautiful and I forgot how nice it is to have a woman around. Civilizes us pigs."

"Ha! If that's you're friends being civilized, remind me to never piss them off."

Rising to his feet, Mike took her hand and pulled her to standing. "Just forget all this, Mira, ok? I'm sorry for what I did and I'm sorry I dragged you into my life. Promise me once your back home you'll forget this whole mess."

"C'mere, " Mira pulled his face to hers and kissed was a sweet innocence in his kiss after a century of abstinence. Whatever he may have forgotten, he quickly recovered and Mike returned her kiss with all the sadness, the passion, the bittersweet what might have beens that lay unspoken between them. Barely an hour later, behind her apartment door, she brought her fingers to her lips. She had finally met her ideal, great looking, kind, funny...and she could never have him because he was a vampire. Life really sucked sometimes.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter left the house in a blur of speed. It was embarassing that they knew, that they could so easily read him when his orphan was a private secret he thought safe from the black hell of his existence. 15 years ago, hunting the night for some unfortunate meal, Peter had passed an alley and heard the squalling of a baby. There in a dumpster, in a stained duffel bag, was the culprit, a screaming, dirty baby, possibly close to a year old. Peter had never been around children, even in his human life when he was one, but the child looked up at him, ceased her wailing and extended her arms to him. Pick me up, was her unspoken command. He did as she wanted and she smiled, a big toothless grin. From then on he was lost.

After seeing that she was in the care of authorities, he had fully intended to never lay eyes on the child again. However, natural concern overrode good sense. First it was to see that she had a place to go. The baby, called Jane by the police, ended up in a state home. Adoption wasn't likely until her identity was established. But no family came forward, no one recognized her. One of the nurses caring for her noticed her fondness for a certain book on fairy princesses and christened her Fiona. With no other persons to claim her, the only name she had ever been given stuck and was eventually made legal. By the time the legal protocol had been enacted and she was officially a legal ward of the state and therefore adoptable, Fiona was 5 and no longer a cute tiny baby.

Life at the state home was surprisingly good for her. She was a beautiful little girl, with dark chestnut hair and big cat green eyes, her winsome smile melting even the sternest nurse's white starched heart. She would push a broom to help clean up, or read to the smaller children, pass out meals, fold clothes. Fiona's kind hearted helpful nature and uncomplaining willingness to work made her a favorite and because of this, she had a private room, a rare and precious commodity in the crowded state care system. Often as she slept, Peter had stood in the window sill and looked in, making sure she was ok and healthy. Creature comforts and toys were very scarce but Peter had managed to sneak through the glass window and leave her a small doll or a teddy bear. With no official birthday, he made a pilgrimage every year on the day he found her, June 14, to peer in and leave the sleeping child a gift.

At 8, Fiona was nearly adopted. Peter had overheard the nurse's chatter, some widower was looking to adopt a daughter because, he said, he and his wife had always wanted a little girl and now that she was dead, he wanted to raise a daughter in her memory. Out of concern, Peter had found the man's name in Fiona's manila folder file and gone to check up on the person on whom her life would depend. The man was a sick individual, alcoholic, living in a home with child pornography. Feeling no remorse, Peter killed the bastard and hung him to stage a suicide.

Fiona grew from a little girl into a stunning young woman. Weeks would pass, sometimes months, but Peter would always be back to check on her. Then he was discovered. On the 13th 'birthday' of finding her, he had crept into her room, intending to leave a thin book of poems and pair of little jeweled ladybug barrettes. The items were set on her table and with one last lingering look at her, he turned to go.

"WAIT! ", she whispered. "Don't go yet please!!!"

Peter froze, unsure what to do. He heard her sheet rustle and the patter of her bare feet on the floor. Then she was standing in front of him, holding the book and grinning.

"I've never seen a guardian angel before," she told him. "You're always too fast. You never stay so I can thank you for my presents."

_You're welcome_, he said, for the first time in his life, grateful he couldn't speak. Tears clogged his throat. She was more lovely each time he saw her.

She didn't even seem to notice his odd way of communicating. "I've missed you, Angel. You were gone so much longer this time."

_Angel business is busy work._

The girl grinned. "I shouldn't complain, since you probably have so many other people to take care of. But I worry about you if you're gone for very long. I miss you," she threw her arms around him in a hug of childish adoration. "Come see me when you can. I don't need presents. Honestly. I just like seeing you."

_I will come when I can_, he promised her. And he had. Fiona had a wonderful ability for understanding the unspoken, never needing to be told to keep him her secret. Selfish as he was, he couldn;t stay away. He made sure none of the staff would ever detect his presence and he was meticulous in keeping her existence hidden from the others. Micky had found some news paper clippings from the initial media frenzy of the foundling baby and had harassed him mercilessly about his 'girlfriend'. Since he was normally paired off with Micky to hunt, his roommate regularly broadcast to the house how often he saw Peter prowling around the orphanage.

Tonight Fiona was sitting up on the bed waiting for him, gnawing her lower lip. "Angel, why can't I come with you?"

_Aren't you happy here ?, _he asked. _Has someone been unkind ? _They would have a hard time being mean to her again with a broken neck.

"Oh," she waved her hand dismissively, "no, nothing like that. I'm getting older and they need my space for other kids. They don't say it but I know. Plus there's the talk of what will become of me when I'm 18."

_You said you wanted to go to college. How has that changed? _He sat on the floor in front of her bed, looking up at her. She didn't know that he planned to be there to make sure she did. Making sure to tell no one, not even Fiona, Peter was slowly stopping his feeding, hoping to wean himself away from blood completely. Each day he sat up in the sun, trying for longer each time, until the pain overtook him. Eventually with work, he believed he could return to day life, the kind he had lived once before. The kind he would live with Fiona.

"I wanna be with you," she confessed. " I don't have anybody. And you don't. You wouldn't be looking after me the way you do if you had any one to care about."

_Things aren't so easy, Fiona. You are still a child_. A fact he had to remind himself of often. At 15 she was only 4 years younger than he had been when his life was robbed from him. Fiona deserved every single year of childhood he could give her.

"The boys here...they talk about me. Caden, the new kid from juvie, he's telling everyone he thinks I'm hot", Fiona told him, twisting her hands across the bedspread.

Rage subsided; the boy in question was 16, an age when noticing girls became an art._ It's a natural part of growing up. Is he bothering you ?_

"Just being annoying during class, nothing I can't handle. The thing is..." Whatever she wanted to say seemed to make her uncomfortable. She fidgetted which was not her usual manner. "Angel, I don't like when..he looks at me...I want ....I thought..UHH!" she heaved her frustration. "I wish you looked at me that way and thought I was hot."

Stampeding emotions overwhelmed him. She had a crush on him. Frustration matching her own, joy that she obviously had romantic interest in him, anger and misery and terror that she was a child and he was a monster and never could the two belong to one another. Teeth gritted and eyes squeezed tightly shut, Peter ground out, _You are beautiful, Fiona. I have told you so._

"But I'm too young, right?" She didn't wait for his answer. " Geesh, I could die....I thought you were......" The girl flopped back on the bed and buried her head under the pillow.

_Fiona, look at me_, Peter sat up and yanked the pillow back. He sat her up so that they were facing each other. _You are beautiful and I care about you very much. I always have. But you are still a child and it would be wrong of me to take advantage of your youth_. That and he feared her condemnation of him and who he was when she learned the truth. Angel, she called him when in truth he was a vile, blood drinking beast of the night. He would die of shame before he let her see what he was now which is why he so desperately worked to change.

One lone tear streaked down her face. "But I love you and I hate being away from you all the time."

_I love you, too. I'm sorry, more sorry than you know, that I can't be with you all the time. When you are an adult, and you've had your freedom..._

The words died on his lips. Fiona gripped the back of his neck and brought his face to hers. It was chaste, a hard touching of lips, that ended when she tried to deepen the kiss. Peter leaned his forehead against hers, breathing heavily. _That was ...wrong._

"It was beautiful. You're my first kiss." She hugged him again. "I know you have to leave. I love you, Angel and I'm waiting for you."

*

Two days off, and not one load of laundry done, not one dish washed, Mira chastised herself. Mike had brought her home and left. Needing to feel normal again, Mira had taken a shower and climbed into bed with Goliath, her kitten. Physically, she felt wonderful; the constant off balance dizziness she had learned to live with was gone. Cautiously eating a regular diabetic conscious meal, the sluggish tired waves never came. After a lifetime of eating like a good girl, and after the past 24 hours of strange emotional weirdness, Mira felt she was long overdue for an ice cream pig out. Goliath sat with her on the bed, watching The Notebook, oddly sad. She missed Mike, a guy she just met, barely knew...

They shared blood. Maybe that explained the connection, the way her heart and mind were obsessing over him. Rationally, she recited the litany of facts that depressed her. He was hot. They couldn't be together. He needed the night and blood. She had a job and ...a cat. A week passed. Then another. Mira would be stuck in traffic and look over, convinced she saw him in another lane. She would open a magazine at the grocery store check out and suddenly feel like crying, seeing some celebrity who resembled him. It hurt to miss him, someone who took pains to save her life but didn't care what became of her afterwards.

When the alarm clock went off heralding another day of thankless labor, Mira stumbled to the bathroom. Mike's bite was faint, two sets of small reddish dots but still visible two weeks later. She trudged back to her room to lay out the clean scrubs she would wear after her shower. Goliath followed her every step winding through her legs as she walked.

From the doorway, Mira stopped and let her tears loose. The far side of the bed where her kitten usually slept was crumpled and bore the imprint of where another person had slept. Instinctively Mira knew Mike had been there.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ok, so what are you doing? A new diet? A boyfriend?" Patty, ward supervisor for the Post Surgery unit, grilled Mira. While the distracted brunette stood in the supply closet loading the med cart, Patty was leaning over the nurse's station desk plying her with questions.

"Huh?" Mira asked, not really listening to her boss. Every med loaded onto the cart for a patient had to be counted, signed off on and then needed a supervisor's signature. Tedious but required work." I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, Patty Cakes."

"Oh just tell me what you're doing! You look freaking amazing, like you lost 10 lbs and it all went to your boobs." Patty ignored her friend's glare. "And christ, your skin looks great too. I know you didn't do Botox or anything so what gives?"

The truth was, she didn't really know either. Maybe Mike's blood did some thing to her. Vampires were all so attractive and fantastically built. Getting infused with his high octane hemoglobin must have turned the juice up on her own genes. But she couldn't very well tell Patty that; she barely believed it herself. "Um, oh. It was on Oprah a few weeks back, that fish diet thing. Supposed to make your skin look younger. Go buy some Omega 3 oil and eat fish every other night." 

Snapping her gum, Patty gave the younger nurse the once over. "Hell, if it'll do that much for me, I'll buy a damn aquarium for every room in the house. Seriously, girl, we're all jealous of you, you lucky bitch."

That's me, the lucky girl, Mira thought. Hotter than she had ever been in her life, more energetic, and finally free of insulin dependence with no one to enjoy it with. "Thanks, Patty. Listen did you get that new IV order for the patient in 7 or are we still pushing the pill?" Best to just lose herself in her work and forget Mike and his gorgeous earthy brown eyes...

"Bah, you're no fun," Patty stuck her tongue out.

*

Goliath was making a dinner buffet out of one of her houseplants when Mira got home late that night. It was the same place and the same routine that she had lived before Mike but it felt lousy. Dinner could wait, her book from arrived and she tore into the package.

The Cultural and Social Study of Medieval Vampire Lore cost more than she had paid for one semester of her nursing books but several college anthropology websites referenced the text so Mira broke out the Visa card and winced out a payment. Chapter 5 The Psychological and Social Bonding of Blood Exchanging-she flipped through the voluminous book. There had to be an answer for why she was depressed and missed Mike, literally in pain and agony, sniffing her sheets for his scent. Knowing what was happening, even from a purely conjectured psuedo science point of view, might help her get over him.

" "The blood exchange has long served as a mechanism for social relationships and ensuring monogomous pair bonding", " she read aloud to the empty room. " "In taking one's partner's cells, both parties physiological systems strive toward an equilibrium of shared strength and genetic homogeny"...so what, my body is tuning itself to his? What do you think of that, Goliath?" The kitten didn't acknowledge his mistress, instead hiking up a leg and licking his hindquarters. "Yea, me too.", she sighed. Outside the window the sky was tinged pink. Dusk. Mike would be awake soon.

*

His first thought on rising was of her, Mira. Like a prayer, the last word on his lips before he succumbed to sleep was her name. Their connection was so strong, his presence so famaliar to her mind, she didn't even notice he was there. During their time apart, he could sense her moods, tell when she was sad or tired. He told her to forget and he had meant it, intending to forget her too. But her sadness, her mind reaching out for his made it impossible for him to ignore her.

He didn't want to ignore her. He had lived for so long there was nothing to look forward to anymore, nothing to enjoy and no one to be close to. Mira gave him those things. She may think him aloof and uncaring but he had returned to look at her, sweet and vulnerable in her sleep, the entire two weeks. Laying next to her had been a huge mistake; now she would know he was near, wanting to be with her just as much as she wanted him there. That and it made him want to do other things in bed with her. Asleep, she had curled into his arms and made these unbearable whimpers, arching herself up against him. Distracted by lust and stealing chances to see her, Mike had not fed since he brought her back home.

Not bothering to feed or answer Davy's peevish glare, Mike made his way to her apartment. Most of the time, he would have to wait a short period until she made herself go lay down. Tonight the entire place was dark; he caught her scent, the even cadence of her breathing and knew she was there and hadn't left. Exhausted she probably had gone to bed early. A window that opened to the small dining area was cracked open, yet another peculiarity but it spared him breaking in.

Silently he made his way to her room. No sooner had he opened the door than the lights flew on. Three feet away, he and Mira stared each other down. She made the first move, literally jumping on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Anger, he had anticipated but not this. Explanations died on his lips as she peppered his face with kisses, cute and welcoming pecks of affection.

"I missed, " she paused between words to pelt him with kisses, "you. Why Mike?" Kiss. "Why," kiss, kiss, "make me " kiss, "wait and worry.."

" We complicate each other's lives. I tried my best to stay away."

She jumped down to her feet and tugged him to sit on the bed. Mira plopped down on his lap and picked up a thick leatherbound tome. "You can't. This guy, he spent 26 years in Romania and the Eastern Europe area, researching the stories and superstitions about what the people called vrykolas. Anyway the legend is that blood swapping was used to keep families of vampires close and it was used for pair bonding.."

"Pair bonding? I don't follow--" Mike craned his neck to see the book over her shoulder.

"Marriage. Vampires married for protection and territory. Well probably other reasons too...", Mira gushed.

"So wait,....", Mike interrupted, smiling. He had a wife?

"No lemme finish. I've been so depressed and sick, physically ill, missing you and this book says that's how its supposed to be for vampy couples. Forever is a long ass time so to ensure a stable marriage, blood bonds cause genetic alterations that result in the hubby and wifey needing each other to feed." Mira watched the confusion on Mike's face so she broke it down further. "Like with eating, you biologically need to drink the spouse's blood at regular intervals."

This was strange and entirely too much. "So we're ..."

"Married. By your people's standards."

"And we..."

She nodded. "We'll feel ill or distressed if we don't have frequent contact with each other. And by contact I mean the 'I vant to schuck your vluuud' type."

Aw, hell. No wonder they couldn't stop thinking of each other; it went further than mutual attraction. In saving her life he had trapped her in emotional dependency on a man who she couldn't be with. Strangely, Mira's face held no trace of the misery and woe he had given her. She looked...happy. Mike was so caught up in the whirlwind of this new information, he didn't immediately realize Mira was unbuttoning his shirt.

He clamped his hands over hers. "Hey whoa, just what are you doing ?"

"Conjugal visit?", she teased coyly. "Look, we're stuck with each other so why not make the best of it?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"Mira," he cupped her face, " I could.. hurt you or lose control and bite you."

"Ohhh kinky!"

" That's not what I mean. I mean I could ..."

Heaving an exagerated sigh, Mira asked him bluntly " That only happens if I take your blood right?" He nodded. "Relax then because I have no intention of that."

"I could force you or..." Mike trailed off when Mira went to her dresser and fumbled around in the top found the desired object she walked back to him, and extended her arm, what appeared to be a razor in her free hand. Midway to her elbow she drew superficial cut across the skin. Mike watched horrified; at the first prick of metal to skin, the first thin red trickle, he grabbed her hand and stopped her. "What the hell are you doing Mira ?!"

Pushing the open wound to him, she proffered herself, "Go on; eat." Mike didn't move. "You need my blood, Mike. And I totally trust you. Maybe if you eat before we get all marital on that bed you won't be as worried. By the way, I shaved my legs and since you don't know modern women, that means you're getting laid."

Humbled by her gift, Mike ducked his head and dragged his tongue along the scant cut. Still sweet, as sugary, summery flavored as the first sip he took of her. Mike looked back at her, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being what I am. For not being able to give you the white dress, and kids and a white picket fence." Words couldn't begin to tell her his sorrow, how badly he wanted to give her all the things every girl envisons for her happily ever after.

"You're forgetting the most important piece of all that," she told him guiding his mouth back to the cut. "The man I love. Those things don't matter, they're just things. You're what I want." She laughed softly. "Would have been nice to fall for a human, but hey, the universe threw me a curveball."

Sealing the wound shut in one, long sweep of his tongue, Mike stood straight and dragged Mira in for a long kiss ."Never had any body belong to me," he murmurred against the skin of her neck.

"I do, " Mira told him, resuming her attack on his buttons. Hunger assuaged and fear of harming her gone, Mike held still and compliant. When she had his chest exposed, Mira gave Mike a hard push that knocked him backwards onto the bed. His back wasn't even flat on the mattress before Mira jumped ontop of him, straddling his chest.

"Uh, Mira....?" Equal parts concern and excitement made his voice crack.

"Shhhhh..." Fate had handed Mira lemons, and as the adage went, she was going to make lemonade. There were worse things than being tied to a sexy, tall, dark cashmere voiced hottie. "I' ve always had this thing for older men", she teased Mike. She worked her way down his chest with a trail of wet open mouthed kisses. Impatiently, Mira made fast work of his belt buckle and yanked his jeans down, turning them inside out as she pulled them off.

And he had worried that he would dominate her ! Mike shrugged out of his shirt and stood up to reciprocate the favor for Mira. Instead of standing and docilely letting him remove her clothes, she smacked his ass and shoved him back down. Heat curled in his belly and he decided to sit back and let her have her way. Being taken by his sexy redhead wife wasn't the wost thing he'd faced in his lifetime. So much for the demure little flirt he'd first met; Mira was a hellcat in the bedroom.

Quickly ducking out of her own t shirt and shorts, Mira joined Mike on the bed sliding her naked form along his. Mike had had enough. He grabbed his wife by the elbows and flipped her underneath him. Tender and romantic could come later; right now he wanted her too badly to to wait much longer. He pushed inside her as she arched her hips to meet him. Vampire though he was, he was still male enough to be immensely gratified by the way her eyes widened in surprise. It had been so long and she felt so warm and tight, Mike's neck and shoulder muscles corded with the effort to go gently.

"I can't wait," he gritted out.

"Then don't !" moaned Mira. Mike obliged, hips pumping like a piston. He rode her mercilessly, until, sweat slicked and on the edge of orgasm, she screamed his name. He followed her over the edge, collapsing on top of her.

*

Mira lay still catching her breath. Mike was whispering to her, all ready hardening again inside her. As if she had snapped her fingers, his body stiffened and he raised his head.

"What is it?" Mira asked.

"It's ...Davy and Micky. There nearby; something's wrong." Mike hopped off the bed and grabbed his pants. "Stay here." He dashed from the room, taking his fantastic ass with him.

"I'll do no such thing," Mira whispered to the empty bed and rushed into the bathroom to pull herself together. Covered and tidied, she trailed the male voices out onto her balcony. In the dark, she couldn't see faces, just the outlines of their forms.

"You bed'er tell him Mick." Davy's clipped British accent was saying. Mira let herself out onto the patio and silently moved next to Mike.

"Ok, so Pete's been after me for a week or so to teach him how to disguise yourself, right?" Micky poured out. " 'I can't' I says, 'it's a special talent'. So I 'm thinking ' What does he need disguised for?"' That and he's acting weird."

"He always acts weird," Mike interjected.

"Yea but lately it's been different, " Micky insisted." He's almost starving, I can sense it. I ask him and he denies it. Plus, he;s not sleeping. Not like he's supposed to. Instead of hunting with me, he tries laying down and sleeping. I told him he's got it backwards, up at night, sleep during the day and he tells me he knows what he's doing. So," Micky paused to catch his breath." I kinda start watching him. He slips off to the orphanage like always. But then he's doing it more. And I'm getting worried now 'cause someone's gonna catch sight of him. So I start following him, watching when he goes and waiting til he leaves. And tonight, he leaves but he's carrying something. My first thought was he had a duffel bag. But when I get closer, I can smell it. It's a girl. I call out to him and he doesn't stop. Won't even turn to look at me."

"So he runs to get me, " Davy added.

" And Davy and I, we corner him in a parking lot. Remind him that we're all gonna fry if the Brethren gets wind of this. Tell him he's gotta take the kid back."

"But he wouldn't." Davy said. "His eyes turned red and he growled at us."

Mira gasped. "Did you say he has a kid?"

Davy turned to her. It was a mark of how serious things we're that neither vampire was objecting to her presence. "A couple years ago, he found this abandoned baby and he's followed her through the system. She's a teenager now. Peter, he keeps an eye on her, goes and sees her from time to time. She likely doesn't even know he's there and we figured he's harmless so..."

"She wasn't moving making any noise, " Micky added. "Had to be unconscious or he really put her out . But anyway, " he turned back to Mike, " We tried really peaceful like to get the girl away from him. Wouldn;t budge so we figure it's gonna have to be two on one. I moved in behind him, and BAM, outta nowhere he kicks me in the throat and I go sailing back 10 feet."

"And I see all this so I'm trying to size up the next move." Davy continued. "But he...well, there's no other way to say it. He opens a car door, throws her in the passenger side. Doesn't even move, the poor girl. Next thing I know, he hits the gas and rams the damn car right into me. Knocked me on my bloody arse. Then he burns off into the night."

"With the girl, " Micky emphasized.

"Shit.", hissed Mike. He rubbed a hand over his face. "All right, we gotta go and take the kid away from him."

"How? " Mira asked. "And once you have her, what do you do with Peter?"

"That's the 64 million dollar question." sighed Micky.

"I'm going. I wanna help. He's in a car so we'd better get moving fast." In her mind, Mira was visually mapping all the likely roads out of town. Where else could they be going, especially if Peter knew his friends were going to be looking for him?

"Uh-uh, lady." Davy shook his head. "We ve got enough to deal with here without a bloody woman taggin' along, crying and getting in the way..."

Before Mike could respond, Mira stood her ground. "My name is Mira and that's what I expect to be called. Not lady, not breakfast, ...Mira." She jabbed a finger at Davy's chest. "Furthermore, I have a car and you 'll need it to transport the girl back home since it's going to take all of you to handle Peter. And because you're male you haven't considered another important factor: you may need a female there for the girl in case... anything's happened to her."

"Peter wouldn't..." Micky flinched, "rape the kid would he?"

"It sounds like there's no predicting what he'll do." Mike announced. "And since Mira's my wife, and she's offering her help, I want her there." The two other vampires shot each other odd looks but said nothing to contradict him.

"The last scent I had on him was over towards I-64", the British vampire offered.

"Then let's load up and go.." Mira glanced back into the apartment. "It's still early but once that place knows the girl is missing, all hell is going to break loose."


	5. Chapter 5

" ....your station for the best hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s...WKLD. Thanks for tuning us in tonight. We'd like to remind our local listeners that there is still an Amber Alert for the Charlotte and Concord areas. Police are looking for 15 year old Fiona McKay, she's 5 foot 7 and 120 lbs, brown hair and green eyes. Last seen in the city of Gastonia, near the Scheetz-English Children's Home. May be in the company of a man, described as blond, 5 foot 10 inches..."

Mira switched the radio off. Ever since the brief stop to fill up, she had been checking stations for any updates. That and it filled her need to break the tense stillness in the car. Beside her Mike was lost in thought. In the backseat, Davy and Micky brooded in silence. After an hour of driving desolate and deserted I-64, Mira had appealed to the guys that maybe it was time to try another route. However, Micky told her they had caught Peter's scent and this was the right direction. But that was 30 minutes ago and Mira was getting worried. That poor kid, how scared she must be.

"There !", Micky bolted upright and pushed forward between the front seats. He pointed out in the endless dark abyss. "30 feet ahead of us."

Mira shot a glance to Mike. There was nothing but pitch black for miles.

"Driving with his lights out, " Mike told her. "Get up closer."

Complying with his request, Mira nudged the gas pedal and the headlights began to illuminate the car just ahead.

"Pull up next to him and run him off the side of the road," Davy demanded.

"Shit no ! Are you forgetting there's an innocent bystander in there?" Even without the girl to consider, Mira wasn't sure she had the skill to batter ram into another car. Especially when the other driver was unpredictable.

"Won't work that way. Mira, listen, honey. " Mike grabbed her arm and held it as she drove. "We don't wanna hurt the kid. But Peter won't risk hurting her either. You have to trust me about what I'm asking..."

Right now, her husband was the only person she did trust. She nodded. "What do you want me to do, babe?"

"Speed up. Pass him and get far ahead. We're gonna play chicken."

Inwardly, her heart stammered. Driving head first into an oncoming car terrified her. Her passengers couldn't die but she surely could. Trust me, he had asked her. Trust him she would. "All right, blood suckers. Hang on to your seats." Her foot slammed down on the gas pedal and the car swerved forward. Deftly, she steered passed the unlit sports car and gunned the accelerator again.

Miles of road dissipated under the arc of her headlights. Mike squeezed her arm. "Ok honey. I love you. Get ready."

"You can do it Mira," came from the backseat, but she was too distracted to know who said it.

"Now Mira," Mike barked. Jerking the steering wheel into an immediate 180 turn, the vehicle spun, screeching and swinging all four bodies hard. The car staggered to a halt and Mira was slammed into the driving column, mercifully unharmed.

"And here he comes," said someone.

Too scared to face the collision, Mira covered her face with her hands and ducked her head down as close to her lap as she could. Metallic scraping and unnatural crackling and popping noises burst all around her. Impact never came. Cautiously Mira raised her head; the other car was twisted, off the road and half way in a ditch. Her 3 passengers were all ready out and running over to the smoking heap. Mira jumped out, around to see what was happening but careful to stay several feet back.

All three men seemed to have an unspoken strategy, as they parted to the sides, effectively surrounding the vehicle.

"C'mon, Pete," Mike yelled, "you know this isn't gonna work."

Peter emerged from the driver's side door, the posture of a cornered animal. _Back off, Michael_. _You have your woman, I am taking mine._ Again much of the dark of night obscured the action but even several feet away Mira could see the red of Peter's eyes.

"She's a fucking child, you moron." Davy antagonized the smaller man. "Even the undead don't tolerate pedophiles and that's what they'll consider you.' As he spoke, Mike and Micky shifted positions, nearly undetected. From her untrained mind, Mira guessed they were going to rush him at all 3 available sides.

_I don't give a damn for any one's opinion. She needs me and I intend to stay with her. _Peter maintained his defensive stance. Over his shoulder, something was moving. The girl sat up, rubbing her eyes; she attempted to step past Peter but he didn't move. _Stay down_, he growled.

"What's going on?" She gave Peter a small push but he stayed where he was without glancing back. "Oh my god, Angel.. who are those people ?!"

_Stay in the car._

Looks passed between the 3 men. With the girl awake and scared, things were twice as difficult. "Pete," Mike's Texas drawl was deceptively laconic. "if we have to go through you, you're putting the kid in the line of fire."

_I will kill any one who tries to take her. We will not be separated._

"Please don't !!" Fiona screamed from behind Peter. " Don't hurt him ! I'll come out."

_You'll stay where you are. These men are not to be trusted. They mean to take you away from me._

The situation was escalating into one they had no hope of winning. Mira quietly crept up next to Mike. Something had to be done. "Fiona? Are you ok?"

_Don't answer her. She's with them._

Fiona ignored him. "He hasn't hurt me ! I'm ok, I swear."

Good. "My name is Mira, I'm Mike's wife." Moving away from Mike's attempt to restrain her, she continued to slowly move closer.

"Who's Mike ?" Fiona 's head darted back and forth trying to see over Peter.

_He's an enemy and she is with him. Ignore her._

"Mike's Peter's friend, " Mira said, stressing the word 'friend'. "No one here is an enemy. Peter took care of me when I was sick," she deliberately referred to that day, hoping he remembered she was no threat.

_Do not listen, Fiona. I love you and I am taking us to where we can be together._

"Peter?" the brunette looked to Peter who was still staring at his friends. "That's really your name?"

_I will explain myself later._

"His name is Peter," Mira confirmed. " And I think there's been a mistake."

"Miiirraaa." Mike warned. She paid no heed, taking a few steps closer.

"What is going on? I don't want Ang--...Peter hurt because of me." Fiona cried.

"We don't want him hurt either. He made a mistake."

_I have made no mistake._

Mira went on as if he hadn't interrupted. " He loves you. I think he loves you so much, hes desperate to make you happy. Because he;s thinking with his heart not his head. I think he's forgotten that in the long run, your well being, your safety should be his first priority."

_Fiona means everything to me. Her safety is the most important thing in my life. I would kill to keep her safe_.

"I love him, too." she hollered back. Mira had to admire the kid's grit; she said it proud and loud and unashamed.

"Yea, Pete, dragging her out into the middle of nowhere, with 3 angry....tough guys after you, that's safe to me." How much the girl knew wasn't established so best to spare the details. "And taking away her right to chose, making decisions without giving her ALL the facts, that's not exactly showing her how much you love her. That's taking her options away... the way yours were taken."

Instantly Peter sagged his shoulders. Perhaps now he was seeing the way he was enacting a similar crime on her.....Ok, time to wrap this up. Peter was weakening and the longer the girl sat here, the more explaining she would need. The more answers she would demand. " Once you're grown it's all worry and struggle. Shouldn;t she be spared that as long as possible?"

Peter said nothing, but the red of his eyes flickered and then was gone. After a moment he moved to left, a giant step to his side, allowing Fiona to flee. The girl lept from the front seat and ran to Mira who gathered her up in a hug. After a brief embrace to reassure Fiona the worst was over, Mira ran to her car, still holding the younger woman.

"Get her outta here, " Mike ordered to his wife's retreating back. Opening the passenger's side, Mira tossed Fiona onto the seat and slammed the door. In a leap, she slid across the hood of the car and got behind the wheel, gunned the engine and sped away.

Fiona was looking back, out the rear window. "They won't do anything bad to him will they?"

Now was not the best time for honesty; Mira didn't know how vampires handled their own kind so she lied, "No honey. It's going to be ok."

"It's my fault, you know." She gathered her knees to her chest, looking so small and helpless Mira's heart broke. " I made him. I begged him to take me with him...." Fiona dissolved into tears. "But I love him so much.. thought we could be...."

What could she say? Mira reached over and brushed back Fiona's hair from her face in a simple gesture of concern. She nearly swerved the car off the road again. Staring back at her, just below the curve of Fiona's earlobe, two tiny red dots of broken skin.

*

Mira smiled, feeling Mike was near. Over the past several months, she began to detect when he was close and what he was feeling. Laying her books down across her lap, Mira sat up higher in the bed, beaming a smile as he walked into her bedroom.

" 'Lo, wifey." was his famaliar greeting.

"Hello hubby," she quipped back. God, she never got used to how sexy he was.

"How's things in the normal world ?"

Normal? She hardly remembered what that was. "Everything's great. Got the storage room cleared and cleaned for Fiona. Went and got the paper's signed today."

Mike was peeling off his clothes. "When's the pip squeak move in?"

"Now that the foster care stuff is all taken care of, I can bring home tomorrow. How's Peter?" While Fiona's care and living arrangements were being settled, he had been forbidden from seeing her or knowing her whereabouts. "She keeps asking about him."

" He's fine. Probably show up on your doorstep tomorrow night." He eased into bed next to Mira. "Still holding a grudge, but he's lucky an ass kicking was all he got. Davy wanted to contact the Brethren and turn him over. Damn glad they weren't involved in this fiasco."

"Seeing each other is going to have to be controlled, like a privilege earned for doing her school work. I don't think he should have unsupervised access to her, Mike." Having carefully grilled her future foster daughter to determine how much she knew, it soon became apparent that Fiona was oblivious to the fact that she was smack dab in the midst of vampires. Mira wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. The bite was still a cause for concern since it was unclear what exchange may have or have not occurred.

"On that, we agree. " Mike snuggled his wife into his arms, abrading her shoulder with his stubble. "Get her in school and going out with friends of her own, make her have the typical teenage years. Hell, she may grow out of Peter given enough freedom."

"That's why I don't give you any freedom," Mira kissed him. "Don't want you growing out of me."

"Like that could happen," he kissed her back more passionately, rolling her so she straddled him.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Mira worried that her happiness was too great to last. But beneath her Mike's hands were driving her crazy and she knew, that for now, this was enough.

( To be continued....?)


End file.
